Story · Ajahn Brahm

Minus 36 — airports closed

1 min read

The story — as told by Ajahn Brahm (verbatim captions)

minus 36°. Really incredibly cold. So they closed down the airports. There was nothing on the roads. So when I went out they say only mad monks and English men go out in the so to say midday sun but this is in the the wintry cold. I had boots on and scarves and woolly hats and everything. So I was quite insulated from the freezing cold. But it was one of the most magnificent experiences of my life

▶ Watch Ajahn Brahm tell it from 24:17 (to 24:53)

A reflection (in the spirit of Ajahn Brahm's talk)

At minus thirty-six, airports and roads were closed and every animal hibernated. Wrapped in scarves and boots, Ajahn Brahm walked alone through a snowy forest, hearing only the snow crunch. It felt like owning the whole world with no responsibility for it. Find stillness wherever you can. It's magnificent.

In brief (our summary)

Visiting somewhere so cold (about −36°) that airports and roads shut; wandering in a frozen world becomes the talk's 'infinite wonder' image.

Teaching point

When the world freezes, wonder still walks.

When this story may help

  • travel disruption
  • extreme weather

Themes

Source & credit

Told by Ajahn Brahm in Infinite Wander | Ajahn Brahm | 11 December 2020 · 2020-12-11 · ▶ watch from 24:17 to 24:53 · Buddhist Society of Western Australia

1 other telling of this story

Caption notes: YouTube auto-captions with machine-added punctuation; words left exactly as captioned.

The narrative is Ajahn Brahm's own telling, quoted from the talk captions. The summary and reflection are Being Mindful Stories's editorial notes. Please credit the teacher and link the original talk. Markdown version

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